‘Murder’ and ‘Scandal’ Shock Shondaland

The Shondaland trifecta—Grey’s Anatomy,Scandal and the Emmy-winning How to Get Away with Murder—premiered on ABC last night, and within an hour reminded viewers why creator Shonda Rhimes has primetime TV on lock. Great writing and solid character and plot development all ultimately create millions of suspenseful viewers anxiously awaiting forthcoming episodes. Bring it, Ms. Rhimes.

For the many disappointed by Wednesday’s Fox line-up (it is okay to admit that the season two premiere of Empire was kind of a flop?), Shondaland might be the most bang for your buck. After all, who has time to watch mediocre scripts coupled with not-so-convincing acting? No thanks. Plot twists abound, and this season’s Shondaland subscribers are in for a bumpy ride—proceed with caution. But before jumping headfirst into a new season of primetime Shonda, here’s what you need to know about the finale of Scandal and How to Get Away with Murder.

Last season on Scandal, there was a big kerfuffle around who assassinated the jurors. Low and behold, Huck and Rowan did the deed. Mystery solved. Romantically, Fitz serves Mellie divorce papers, and Olivia ditched Jake for Fitz. The episode ended with Olivia and Fitz kissing passionately on the White House balcony, and Olitz reunite. Hooray! How to Get Away with Murder ended last season with Rebecca being killed off.

Now back to business.

Scandal began last night with a state dinner for Prince Richard, Princess Emily and Queen Isabel of Caledonia. Mellie was unable to attend the dinner because she was “sick.” The truth? Mellie wasn’t welcomed. Princess Emily would go on to become the victim of a horrible car accident. It would later be revealed that the princess was pregnant at the time of death, and the would-be baby was the result of an affair.

“We may not be in a fairytale, but evil queens tend to go down,” Olivia Pope spat at Queen Isabel. This quote pretty much sums up the remainder of Olivia Pope’s interactions with the shade-tastic Queen… who had the princess killed.

The episode ends with some heat: will Olivia and Fitz will go public, or not? But, Ms. Pope isn’t having it. “If we are broken going in, we are not getting out. Not together,” she said, and her beau seemed to understand. Then there’s The Liberty Report. The talk show, featuring Sally Langston (think Bill O’Reilly with a wig), outs Olitz! Say it ain’t so! Best (read: worst) part: Langston provides many images of Olivia and Fitz in the White House getting it on.

There’s was bit of resolve over on the How to Get Away with Murder season premiere. Frank and Annalise found Rebecca’s body, and initially had no clue whodunnit, but they were forced to do away with the body. Annalise figured out that Bonnie suffocated and killed Rebecca. But the story was told from a unique perspective—the audience is aware that Bonnie is a cold-blooded murderer, but none of the Keating Five have a clue. It’ll be interesting to see how long producers draw this mystery out.

Nate is on trial for murdering Sam, and as we know was set up by Annalise. Her law school classmate Eve (Famke Janssen) appears, and at first refuses to take on Nate’s case. We learn that the Annalise and Eve were romantically involved pre-Sam, and they went on to lip-lock, which seemed to reignite the flame. (Pearl clutch!)

Here’s the kicker: In a flash-forward, Annalise is found in her client’s estate lying on the floor in a puddle of blood after being shot. It’s unclear as to whether or not Annalise is still alive. Lying in a puddle of blood is seldom a good look. But hey, Viola Davis just won an Emmy Award, so it’s doubtful the writers would be knocking her character off just yet.

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